Sunday, April 6, 2003

Success Stories Abound in Efforts to Prevent and Control Cancer. The advances in the last 50 years in understanding the causes of cancer have turned many once fatal cancers into curable diseases. By Jane E. Brody. [New York Times: Health]Disclaimer: I lead a group of cancer researchers at a major pharmaceutical company. Jane is very upbeat in her portrayal of the state of our knowledge of cancer. I also believe we are now moving to a new era of cancer treatment, but we have a long way to go. Current cancer therapy except for a few treatments for relatively rare cancers are primitive. The state of the art therapy for metastatic cancer often provides a patient six more months of life. Usually this period is frought with pain and suffering from both the chemotherapy and the cancer. We now know significantly more than when the current generation of drugs were developed. Turning this knowledge into treatment is a long and slow process of discovery, failure, hard-work and luck. My hope is that in the next twenty years we will turn most cancers into chronic diseases like AIDS. A patient will live a productive life with the disease always in the background, but controlled. 12:33:32 PM

In Their Hummers, Right Beside Uncle Sam. While the Humvees are lined up in the desert, their cousins, the Hummers, continue to be Detroit's hottest seller. By Danny Hakim. [New York Times: Business]This is the ultimate in conspicuous consumerism. A vehicle that has no redeemable purpose. I see them routinely commuting to work! This vehicle probably has reached the maximum fuel consumed and CO2 produced per mile driven. What makes humans believe that the world is theirs to exploit? I know; I have been on this rant before. 12:19:14 PM

Conscience Weds Convenience in a Hardware Recycling Service. Few technologies are rendered obsolete as quickly as the home computer. In a matter of months, the fastest processors are often outpaced and the largest drives dwarfed. Before you know it, your sleek new PC is ready for the recycling bin. If only getting it there were as easy as drag-and-drop. By Mark Glassman. [New York Times: Technology]I would love to take advantage of something like this. I have 3 computers at home that I could recycle: an SE, a Mac IIx, and a Performa 6300. I also have two old printers. I would prefer to put them to good use, since they all work. But maybe recycling is the best alternative. We now have a Mac Cube, an old style iMac and a new style iMac. Is this the definition of a Macophile? 12:06:48 PM

carver weekend. Major new Gadget arriving at the castle today. I get to test drive it the whole weekend. Feast your eyes on the dutch-made Carver. [Adam Curry: Adam Curry's Weblog] This is one amazing idea. 12:01:04 PM